The October 2002 Bulletin reports on Campus Watch, a web site that aims to monitor and publicize anti-Israel bias within Middle East studies programs in North America. The overwhelming consensus of those quoted, which include CAUT executive director James Turk, is that Campus Watch is a threat to academic freedom.

What the detractors do not state are any reasons why academic freedom is threatened. The methods of Campus Watch are to publicize what it considers to be objectionable statements and writings. So long as these reports are accurate, it is hard to fathom how academic freedom is threatened by increased exposure.

Surely a system that defends the academic freedom of the likes of Phillip Rushton can tolerate a publication that is fulfilling basically a journalistic and critical role. Furthermore, to stifle Campus Watch would be an affront to freedom of speech, which is intimately linked to (and a more fundamental right than) academic freedom.

Rather than denying its right to exist, opponents of Campus Watch should focus on critiquing its content, which is a legitimate form of academic discourse.

Michael Greenspan
Electrical & Computer Engineering, Queen's University